Chapter 103 The conference begins

"Everyone go back to your hotel rooms and pack your things. There will be an opening party tonight."

2004 8 Month 15 Day.

Sunday.

Santa Barbara, California.

In the hotel designated for the conference, Wang Xiaoyun arranged the itinerary for Xu Yuan and his friends in an orderly manner. Everyone's face was filled with relaxation and comfort, without any sense of tension at all.

If outsiders saw their condition, they would probably think they were here for tourism.

Not attending an international conference on cryptography.

The main reason is that unlike the previous mentality of learning and communication, this time they want to announce something to the entire cryptography community.

The MD5 cryptographic algorithm has been cracked.

"Then let's meet in the hotel lobby in half an hour." Professor Ding Jian nodded first.

Then everyone did not waste any more time and returned to their rooms with the room cards they had received to pack their things, preparing to attend the opening ceremony of the International Cryptography Conference in the evening.

Among the five people attending the meeting, Xu Yuan and Cui Li were the youngest.

Although they had been on the plane for such a long time, their physical strength and spirits were still abundant. The two of them changed their clothes first and came out of the room. They sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby and waited for Wang Xiaoyun and others to come down.

Today Xu Yuan wore a black suit, which was rare. It looked a little ill-fitting because it was bought casually in currency.

But with the upright figure and elegant face, all other flaws can be ignored.

But it was Cui Li's outfit beside him.

You can tell at a glance that a lot of thought was put into it.

It is estimated that preparations for this international cryptography conference began very early.

Maybe because he had never been in such an occasion before, he seemed to talk more than usual when he was sitting.

"Junior."

“Have you ever attended an international conference like this before?”

"I heard that at foreign parties, ladies are invited to dance. Fortunately, I learned a little bit when I was in college."

"Do you think it's appropriate for me to refuse..."

Although Xu Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this, he understood it very well in his heart.

The first project I participated in after graduating with a Ph.D. was to successfully crack the MD5 cryptographic algorithm, and I also participated in this year's International Cryptography Conference with the team. A normal person would inevitably be more or less emotional, but being invited to dance by a foreign lady was really too much to think about.

After all, the country is basically transparent in the field of cryptography, and even participating in an international cryptography conference is no different from just joining the crowd.

It will not attract the attention of overseas cryptographers at all.

What's more, one of them is a PhD student, and the other is an undergraduate, so no one would be willing to pay attention to them.

Of course this will soon cease to be the case.

However, he still responded to Cui Li's words.

Mainly waiting for others is indeed boring.

"No."

He just shook his head to deny it, then suddenly thought of something and added, "Does the number theory conference held by Qinghua count?"

Cui Li originally thought that Xu Yuan was the same as himself.

This is the first time for all of them to attend an international conference of this level.

It was only after hearing the latter sentence that I realized that I had forgotten that the other person's major was mathematics.

So he nodded immediately to confirm.

"Of course it counts."

Although he was not present at the number theory academic conference, he had read a lot of related reports and knew that many mathematics professors from overseas universities attended the conference.

A conference of this size can certainly be called international.

that's it.

The two of them chatted intermittently afterwards.

The whole process will be conducted in Chinese.

Even when he got excited, his dialect started to come out.

Even though there were foreigners passing by from time to time, I didn't take it seriously.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long, and soon they saw Professors Wang Xiaoyun, Wang Changxin and Ding Jian coming down, dressed in formal clothes.

When you get closer, take the initiative to show concern.

"Are you anxious?"

At this time, Xu Yuan and Cui Li also stood up and said, "Senior Cui and I are talking about the opening party tonight."

"We just came down not long ago."

Naturally, this little episode will not attract too much attention.

After saying a few words casually, the group of five set off for the venue of the opening party.

……

After Xu Yuan followed everyone into the venue, he found that this place was quite different from the last number theory academic conference held by Qinghua University. Compared with pure academic exchanges, it was more like an evening party for the elites, with various foods and red wines placed around and music playing.

However, Wang Xiaoyun also gave an explanation.

The formal meeting will take place in the next few days after the opening ceremony.

Hearing this, Xu Yuan became more and more comfortable, no longer caring about anything else and concentrating on enjoying the food here.

Cui Li, on the other hand, felt extremely disappointed.

Compared to when I first arrived, my mood has obviously become lower and lower.

Looking around, most of the people in the venue are foreign men over 50 years old.

There was no such thing as being invited to dance by a lady.

All I can say is that my fantasy was shattered.

It is also worth mentioning that Xu Yuan's analysis was indeed correct. Cryptography experts from various countries in the venue were chatting and greeting each other with red wine glasses, but they seemed very quiet.

Nobody cares.

But this situation is normal.

Who is to blame for the fact that China has not made any achievements in the field of cryptography so far?

Professor Wang Xiaoyun was not idle. He walked up to Xu Yuan and introduced him to the cryptography experts present.

"That person is Professor Biham, the world's top cryptography expert. The person he is talking to is Desmed, a cryptographer from the UK. They both represent the authority in the field of cryptography."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan followed Wang Xiaoyun's gaze and immediately saw the figures of Biham and Desmed.

At the same time, he also found that one of Desmed's arms was injured and was hanging around his neck with a bandage.

Of course, he wouldn't bother himself by saying hello at this time.

Otherwise, as an undergraduate student.

Having no achievements in the field of cryptography is no different from bringing disgrace upon oneself.

The thought lingered here, and after looking away, he muttered with a hint of regret.

"It's a pity that Professor Levist was unable to attend this meeting."

The Rivest he mentioned is the Turing Award winner who designed the MD5 cryptographic algorithm.

When Wang Xiaoyun heard this, she immediately understood what Xu Yuan meant.

With a smile on his face, he said, "Although Professor Levister didn't come, the Bureau of Standards and Technology sent someone to attend."

"Then I'm looking forward to the report the day after tomorrow even more." Xu Yuan agreed.

According to the arrangement of the conference organizers, their speeches will be held the day after tomorrow, which means that the news of the cracking of the MD5 password will not be announced until two days later.

Since they had no real sense of participation in the opening ceremony, they mostly just spent their time eating.

It was considered a free dinner.

After the party, everyone returned to the hotel, and Wang Xiaoyun mentioned the report she would give on stage the day after tomorrow.

"Xu Yuan."

"I want you to go on stage the day after tomorrow to announce the results of our project."

"what do you think?"

Wang Xiaoyun looked at Xu Yuan and asked calmly. He did not choose to make a decision directly. It can be said that he respected Xu Yuan's opinion very much.

In fact, Xu Yuan knew what Wang Xiaoyun was thinking before he came here.

Under normal circumstances, Wang Xiaoyun, as the direct person in charge of the MD5 password cracking project and the corresponding author of the paper, should be the one to go on stage and announce the research results to the entire cryptography field.

But after all, it was he who developed the new differential collision method used to crack the MD5 password.

It can be said that without this collision method, the MD5 password algorithm would not be able to be cracked so quickly.

In addition, he took the initiative to conceal this matter in the paper.

In other words, outsiders only know that the entire team cracked the MD5 password.

The focus will also be on three professors in the field of cryptography: Wang Xiaoyun, Ding Jian and Wang Changxin.

It’s not that he has to keep a low profile, it’s just that his real focus is still in the field of mathematics.

How can one devote all his energy to cryptography without truly touching the pinnacle of mathematics? Wang Xiaoyun probably wanted him to give a report on stage to make up for it for this reason.

Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly heard the voices of Professors Ding Jian and Wang Changxin.

"Among us, only Xu Yuan is the most familiar with the collision method. I think it is most appropriate for him to give the report."

"I agree with that, too."

Even Cui Li, who had remained silent, couldn't help but interrupt and add a sentence.

"Xu Yuan has given a report at a mathematics conference before."

After listening to everyone's words, Xu Yuan suddenly discovered something very embarrassing, that is, among the five of them, it seemed that only he had the experience of making this kind of international conference report.

Although Wang Xiaoyun, Ding Jian and Wang Changxin are professors, they switched from mathematics to the field of cryptography midway.

Given the current situation in the field of cryptography in China, there is no chance to give a report at such a top international conference.

Faced with this situation and under the repeated insistence of others, Xu Yuan had no choice but to agree.

"OK then."

Hearing Xu Yuan's affirmative answer, Wang Xiaoyun's face immediately showed joy and she did not forget to give instructions.

"There's still one day before we go on stage, so just prepare yourself."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan nodded again to show that he understood.

No words were spoken all night.

The next morning, Xu Yuan and his colleagues arrived at the venue on time to attend the first day of the international cryptography conference.

Although he did not need to speak on stage today, Xu Yuan sat below and listened very carefully, absorbing the cryptography knowledge from cryptography experts around the world like a sponge.

Especially Professor Biham, the world's top cryptographer, and even Professor Desmes, who had a bandage on his hand.

They all gave reports of varying lengths.

Announce the research results of this period to the global cryptography community.

It’s a pity that no one challenged the world-famous password to crack it on the first day.

This made the whole day's meeting seem a bit dull.

But the happiest people must be the officials of the Bureau of Standards and Technology.

After this international cryptography conference is over, they will be able to prove to the outside world once again the security of their own MD5 password. As mentioned before, using the usual calculation method, even the fastest supercomputer today will take more than a million years to calculate.

It is undoubtedly the most hopeless area in the minds of cryptographers.

It was under this situation that it was finally Xu Yuan and his colleagues' turn to go on stage and report the contents of their papers.

……

(End of this chapter)